◎General Instructions for Document Authentication

General Instructions for Document Authentication

All documents must be issued in the following six states of our jurisdiction: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska. If the document falls under another jurisdiction, please contact the TECO office in charge of that jurisdiction.

Inquiring or attaching supplementary documents via email, please indicate the applicant's name, authentication item, and type of supplementary documents in the subject line.

Summary:

Each applicant must complete and sign the "Application Form for Authentication."
Applicants can submit multiple documents under one application.
Applicants must provide a clear copy of their passport or government-issued ID. Unclear copies will be rejected.
Additional identification might be requested while the documents are reviewing.
If any required material for authentication is missing, we may reject the application.
If the document requires notarization before submission, it must be signed by a Public Notary from one of the six states under our jurisdiction.

The processing time:

General case: The cases are processed within 7 to 10 business days after acceptance.
Expedited service: Application must be processed as a walk-in and cannot be handled by mail. All required materials must be prepared in advance for acceptance. When processing, additional proof documents for expedited handling (such as flight tickets or other explanatory documents) must be provided. The cases are processed within 3 to 5 business days after acceptance.
Applying via mail will take an additional 1 to 4 business days to review the completeness of the required materials. We will inform the applicant if the required materials are incomplete. Otherwise, the case will proceed straight away until it's done.
Wait to check the authentication status until the 7th business day following the submission.

Fees and Payment Methods:

The authentication fee is $15 per document. Payment must be in cash, check, or money order, and make it payable to "TECO."
An additional fee of $7.50 per document will be charged for expedited service. The counter cannot provide change in coins, so please inquire with the counter staff for payment instructions.
Please prepare the exact change for payments.

Return Envelope:

For the return envelope, the options are as follows:

For Domestic: Either pay $12 for USPS Priority Mail or any other prepaid domestic shipping method.
International: We only accept prepaid shipping labels from FedEx, UPS, or DHL.

The return envelope must state the "recipient's full name and address."
Choosing a shipping company such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc. as the carrier, please fill in the applicant's or agent's information as the "sender." We are not responsible for any damage, loss, or return of the mail during transit, nor can we pay for the difference in postage. For postal-related issues, please contact the carrier.

Other notes:

Please choose reliable carriers and secure shipping methods for all important documents.
Please mail the application to the address: One Union Square, 600 University St., Suite 2020, Seattle, WA 98101, U.S.A.

Document Authentication Services Include:

The document authentication division line: 206-441-4586 ext. 311

The consular services inquiry email: infoseattle@mofa.gov.tw

Applicants with document authentication questions are welcome to inquire via email in advance. Please include the applicant’s name and application category in the subject, and include the reason for the application, a brief applicant background, contact phone number, etc in the email.

Forms:

Application Form for Authentication